First World War.com - Primary Documents - The Assassination of Rasputin, 29 December 1916 What's New Primary Documents - The Assassination of Rasputin, 29 December 1916 Reproduced below is Russian Colonel Stanislaus de Lazovert's account of the assassination of Grigory Rasputin , the Russian monk who acted as close adviser to the Tsar and (most especially) Tsarina . Sponsored Links Widely held responsible by contemporaries for the downfall of the Romanov monarchy through his tight hold over the Russian royal family, numerous accounts of Rasputin's eventual demise at the end of December 1916 were circulated in early 1917. Today it is believed that Rasputin was invited to dinner at the home of the Russian nobleman Felix Yusupov , who then shot him; and that he was shot again by a second conspirator, Vladimir Purishkevich, before finally being dropped through a hole in the Neva river, where he finally died by drowning. His corpse was later discovered on the Neva's banks.

De Lazovert's somewhat sensational (and in parts highly improbable) memoir, below, largely supports Yusupov's account but chiefly attributes Rasputin's death to the hands of Purishkevich. Stanislaus de Lazovert on the Assassination of Rasputin, 29 December 1916 The shot that ended the career of the blackest devil in Russian history was fired by my close and beloved friend, Vladimir Purishkevich, Reactionary Deputy of the Duma. Five of us had been arranging for this event for many months. On the night of the killing, after all details had been arranged, I drove to the Imperial Palace in an automobile and persuaded this black devil to accompany me to the home of Prince Yusupov, in Petrograd. Later that night M. Purishkevich followed him into the gardens adjoining Yusupov's house and shot him to death with an automatic revolver. We then carried his riddled body in a sheet to the River Neva, broke the ice and cast him in. The story of Rasputin and his clique is well known.

They sent the army to the trenches without food or arms, they left them there to be slaughtered, they betrayed Rumania and deceived the Allies, they almost succeeded in delivering Russia bodily to the Germans. Rasputin, as a secret member of the Austrian Green Hand, had absolute power in Court. The Tsar was a nonentity, a kind of Hamlet, his only desire being to abdicate and escape the whole vile business. Rasputin continued his life of vice, carousing and passion. The Grand Duchess reported these things to the Tsarina and was banished from Court for her pains. This was the condition of affairs when we decided to kill this monster. Only five men participated in it. They were the Grand Duke Dmitri Pavlovich, Prince Yusupov, Vladimir Purishkevich, Captain Suhotine and myself. Prince Yusupov's palace is a magnificent place on the Nevska. The great hall has six equal sides and in each hall is a heavy oaken door. One leads out into the gardens, the one opposite leads down a broad flight of marble stairs to the huge dining room, one to the library, etc.

At midnight the associates of the Prince concealed themselves while I entered the car and drove to the home of the monk. He admitted me in person. Rasputin was in a gay mood. We drove rapidly to the home of the Prince and descended to the library, lighted only by a blazing log in the huge chimney-place. A small table was spread with cakes and rare wines - three kinds of the wine were poisoned and so were the cakes. The monk threw himself into a chair, his humour expanding with the warmth of the room. He told of his successes, his plots, of the imminent success of the German arms and that the Kaiser would soon be seen in Petrograd. At a proper moment he was offered the wine and the cakes. He drank the wine and devoured the cakes. Hours slipped by, but there was no sign that the poison had taken effect. The monk was even merrier than before. We were seized with an insane dread that this man was inviolable, that he was superhuman, that he couldn't be killed. It was a frightful sensation. He glared at us with his black, black eyes as though he read our minds and would fool us. And then after a time he rose and walked to the door.

We were afraid that our work had been in vain. Suddenly, as he turned at the door, some one shot at him quickly. With a frightful scream Rasputin whirled and fell, face down, on the floor. The others came bounding over to him and stood over his prostrate, writhing body. It was suggested that two more shots be fired to make certain of his death, but one of those present said, "No, no; it is his last agony now." We left the room to let him die alone, and to plan for his removal and obliteration. Suddenly we heard a strange and unearthly sound behind the huge door that led into the library. The door was slowly pushed open, and there was Rasputin on his hands and knees, the bloody froth gushing from his mouth, his terrible eyes bulging from their sockets. With an amazing strength he sprang toward the door that led into the gardens, wrenched it open and passed out. As he seemed to be disappearing in the darkness, F. Purishkevich, who had been standing by, reached over and picked up an American-made automatic revolver and fired two shots swiftly into his retreating figure.

We heard him fall with a groan, and later when we approached the body he was very still and cold and - dead. We bundled him up in a sheet and carried him to the river's edge. Ice had formed, but we broke it and threw him in. The next day search was made for Rasputin, but no trace was found. Urged on by the Tsarina, the police made frantic efforts, and finally a rubber was found which was identified as his. The river was dragged and the body recovered. I escaped from the country. Purishkevich also escaped. But Prince Yusupov was arrested and confined to the boundaries of his estate. He was later released because of the popular approval of our act. Russia had been freed from the vilest tyrant in her history; and that is all. Source: Source Records of the Great War, Vol. V, ed. Charles F. Horne, National Alumni 1923 Sponsored Links Saturday, 22 August, 2009 Michael Duffy 'Push' was slang signifying a large-scale attack upon enemy positions. - Did you know? Rasputin's Death - How did Rasputin really die?

| HowStuffWorks How did Rasputin really die? Hulton Archive/ Getty Images When Prince Felix Yusupov invited Rasputin to his home on Dec. 29, 1916, it wasn't for pleasantries. Married to the niece of Czar Nicholas, Yusupov plotted with a group of nobles to murder Rasputin in an effort to save Russia from imminent collapse. Since the details of the night rely on eyewitness testimony, disputes have arisen regarding what exactly happened. Generally, historians believe that the prince wooed Rasputin to his home with the prospect of meeting his attractive wife. Yusopov laced pastries and wine with enough cyanide to poison several men. However, after Rasputin arrived and began eating and drinking, the poison had no effect, and Yuspov panicked. Determined to end Rasputin's life, Yusupov pulled out a gun and shot Rasputin, striking him in the back [source: Yusupov ]. Up Next Was there a real John Henry? After Rasputin fell to floor and was presumed dead, Yusupov and his friends celebrated upstairs. A little later, Yusupov checked on the body.

The prince checked the pulse, feeling no sign of life and even shook Rasputin. Somehow still alive, Rasputin opened his eyes, which Yusopov described as the "green eyes of a viper" [source: Yusupov ], and he attempted to escape. Yusopov and his co-conspirators chased Rasputin out into the yard, shooting him two more times and beating him with a rubber club. To ensure he didn't rouse again, the men tied Rasputin in a blanket and dumped his body into the Neva River . Adding another layer of mystery to Rasputin's death, his body was found with his right arm outstretched, presumably to make the sign of the cross, indicating that he was still alive when he hit the water and managed to partially free himself [source: Wilson ]. The autopsy report listed hypothermia from the freezing water as Rasputin's cause of death. However, the autopsy also revealed that he had been shot in the forehead, leading some to believe that he must have been dead before being dumped in the Neva River [source: Moynahan ]. Interestingly, it showed no evidence of poison in the body.

The murder investigation was brief since Yusopov and his friends' involvement was well-known [source: Moynahan ]. Additional factors about the specifics of Rasputin's death have floated around over the years, including whether he was castrated by his murderers. Months later, the Romanov dynasty collapsed with the Bolshevik Revolution in 1917. A letter reportedly written by Rasputin that his secretary Simanovich recovered after the czarina's death prophesied his demise along with the royal family's. He wrote, "if it was one of your relations who have wrought my death, then no one in the family…none of your relations will remain alive for more than two years" [source: Wilson ]. On July 16, 1918, Nicholas II, Alexandra and their five children were murdered by revolutionaries. More recently, retired Scotland Yard detective Richard Cullen and historian Andrew Cook proposed a new theory behind Rasputin's death. In 2004, they claimed that his death stemmed from a British Secret Intelligence plot involving two officers, Oswald Rayner and John Scales.

They based their conclusions on a connection between Yusupov and Rayner and information Scales had recorded on Rasputin [source: BBC ]. Similarly, it was proposed in 2007 that a British conspiracy hatched by Prime Minister David Lloyd George led to Rasputin's murder [source: Blomfield ]. Both theories are based on Russia's important role in World War I for Britain. With Russia fighting Germany from the East, it provided an important buffer for the Allies since the Germans could not use all of their strength for combat in the West [source: Blomfield ]. While neither of the theories has gained much acceptance among historians, Rasputin's death remains one of the most fascinating. To learn more about Russian history, read the links on the next page. Grigori Rasputin - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Grigori Rasputin This article needs additional citations for verification . Please help improve this article by adding reliable references (ideally, using inline citations ). Unsourced material may be challenged and removed . (January 2009) "Rasputin" redirects here. For other uses, see Rasputin (disambiguation) .

Grigori Yefimovich Rasputin [ O.S. 16 December] 1916) was a Russian mystic who is perceived as having influenced the later days of the Russian Tsar Nicholas II , his wife the Tsaritsa Alexandra , and their only son the Tsarevich Alexei . Rasputin had often been called the "Mad Monk", [1] while others considered him a "strannik" (or religious pilgrim ) and even a starets (ста́рец, "elder", a title usually reserved for monk-confessors), believing him to be a psychic and faith healer . [1] It has been argued[ who? ][ citation needed ] that Rasputin helped to discredit the tsarist government, leading to the fall of the Romanov dynasty, in 1917. Contemporary opinions saw Rasputin variously as a saintly mystic , visionary, healer and prophet and, on the other side of the coin, as a debauched religious charlatan. There has been much uncertainty over Rasputin's life and influence, for accounts of his life have often been based on dubious memoirs, hearsay, and legend.

[1] Contents 12 External links Early life Rasputin was born a peasant in the small village of Pokrovskoye , along the Tura River in the Tobolsk guberniya (now Tyumen Oblast ) in Siberia . [2] The date of his birth remained in doubt for some time and was estimated sometime between 1863 and 1873. [3] Recently, new documents surfaced revealing Rasputin's birth date as 10 January 1869 O.S. (equivalent to 22 January 1869 N.S.) [4] Not much is known about his childhood, and what is known was most likely passed down through his family members. He had two known siblings, a sister called Maria and an older brother named Dmitri. His sister Maria, said to have been epileptic , drowned in a river. [2] One day, when Rasputin was playing with his brother, Dmitri fell into a pond and Rasputin jumped in to save him. They were both pulled out of the water by a passerby, but Dmitri eventually died of pneumonia .

Both fatalities affected Rasputin, so he subsequently named two of his children Maria and Dmitri. The myths surrounding Rasputin portray him as showing indications of supernatural powers throughout his childhood. Efim Rasputin, Grigori's father, raised horses, and one ostensible example of these powers was when he mysteriously identified the man who had stolen one of the horses. [2] When he was around the age of eighteen, he spent three months in the Verkhoturye Monastery, possibly a penance for theft. His experience there, combined with a reported vision of the Mother of God on his return, turned him towards the life of a religious mystic and wanderer. It also appears that he came into contact with the banned Christian sect known as the khlysty ( flagellants ), whose impassioned services, ending in physical exhaustion, led to rumors that religious and sexual ecstasy were combined in these rituals. Suspicions (which have not generally been accepted by historians) that Rasputin was one of the Khlysts threatened his reputation right to the end of his life. Indeed, Alexander Guchkov charged him with being a member of this illegal and orgiastic sect.

The Tsar perceived the very real threat of a scandal and ordered his own investigations, but he did not, in the end, remove Rasputin from his position of influence; quite the contrary, he fired his minister of the interior for a "lack of control over the press" (censorship being a top priority for Nicholas then). He pronounced the affair to be a private one closed to debate. [5] Shortly after leaving the monastery , Rasputin visited a holy man named Makariy, whose hut was nearby. Makariy had an enormous influence on Rasputin, who would model himself after him. Rasputin married Praskovia Fyodorovna Dubrovina in 1889, and they had three children, named Dmitri, Varvara, and Maria . Rasputin also had another child with another woman. In 1901, he left his home in Pokrovskoye as a strannik (or pilgrim ) and, during the time of his journeying, travelled to Greece and Jerusalem .

In 1903, Rasputin arrived in Saint Petersburg , where he gradually gained a reputation as a starets (or holy man) with healing and prophetic powers. Healer to Alexei Rasputin was wandering as a pilgrim in Siberia when he heard reports of Tsarevich Alexei 's illness (it was not publicly known in 1904 that Alexei had haemophilia ). This disease was widespread among European royalty descended from the British Queen Victoria , who was Alexei's great-grandmother. When the young Tsarevich, while vacationing with his family, sustained a bruise after falling off a horse, he suffered internal bleeding for days. The Tsaritsa, looking everywhere for help, asked her best friend, Anna Vyrubova , to secure the help of the charismatic peasant healer Rasputin in 1905. [6] He was said to possess the ability to heal through prayer and was indeed able to give the boy some relief, in spite of the doctors' prediction that he would die.

[6] Skeptics have claimed that he did so by hypnosis — although, during a particularly grave crisis, Rasputin, from his home in Siberia , was believed to have eased the suffering, in Saint Petersburg, of the Tsarevich through prayer. His practical advice (such as "Don't let the doctors bother him too much; let him rest") may also have been of great assistance in allowing Alexei and his worried mother to relax, so that the child's own natural healing process might take place. [7] Others believe he used leeches to stop the boy's bleeding for the moment; however, this is unlikely to have been successful because leech saliva contains hirudin and other natural anticoagulants . Every time the boy had an injury which caused him internal or external bleeding, the Tsaritsa called on Rasputin, and the Tsarevich subsequently got better.[ citation needed ] This made it appear that Rasputin was effectively healing him. Diarmuid Jeffreys has proposed [8] that the medical treatment halted due to Rasputin's intervention included aspirin , then a newly-available (since 1899) " wonder drug " for the treatment of pain.

Since aspirin is an antiaggregant (prevents aggregation of platelets thereby interfering with blood coagulation) — this was discovered only in 1971 — the treatment would have increased the bleeding into the joints, which was causing Alexei's joint swelling and pain. The Tsar referred to Rasputin as "our friend" and a "holy man", a sign of the trust that the family placed in him. Rasputin had a considerable personal and political influence on Alexandra [9] , and the Tsar and Tsaritsa considered him a man of God and a religious prophet . Everyone desirous of an audience with the royal couple had to go through him, a situation which angered certain individuals. Alexandra came to believe that God spoke to her through Rasputin. Of course, this relationship can also be viewed in the context of the very strong, traditional, age-old bond between the Russian Orthodox Church and the Russian leadership. Another important factor was probably the Tsaritsa's German-Protestant origin: she was definitely highly fascinated by her new Orthodox outlook — the Orthodox religion puts a great deal of faith in the healing powers of prayer.

Controversy Rasputin among admirers, 1914 Rasputin soon became a controversial figure, becoming involved in a paradigm of sharp political struggle involving monarchist, anti-monarchist, revolutionary and other political forces and interests. He was accused by many eminent persons of various misdeeds, ranging from an unrestricted sexual life (including raping a nun ) [10] to undue political domination over the royal family.[ citation needed ] While fascinated by him, the Saint Petersburg elite did not widely accept Rasputin: he did not fit in with the royal family, and he and the Russian Orthodox Church had a very tense relationship. The Holy Synod frequently attacked Rasputin, accusing him of a variety of immoral or evil practices, but such anecdotal evidence on Rasputin's life, however abundant, should be regarded with caution. Because Rasputin was a court official, though, he and his apartment were under 24-hour surveillance, and, accordingly, there exists some credible evidence about his lifestyle in the form of the famous "staircase notes" — reports from police spies which were not given only to the Tsar but also published in newspapers .

According to Rasputin's daughter, Maria, Rasputin did "look into" the Khlysty sect but rejected it. One Khlyst practice was known as "rejoicing" (радение), a ritual which sought to overcome human sexual urges by engaging in group sexual activities so that, in consciously sinning together, the sin's power over the human was nullified. [11] Rasputin is said to have been particularly appalled by the belief that grace is found through self-flagellation . Like many spiritually-minded Russians, Rasputin spoke of salvation as depending less on the clergy and the church than on seeking the spirit of God within. He also maintained that sin and repentance were interdependent and necessary to salvation. Thus, he claimed that yielding to temptation (and, for him personally, this meant sex and alcohol), even for the purposes of humiliation (so as to dispel the sin of vanity ), was needed to proceed to repentance and salvation. Rasputin was deeply opposed to war, both from a moral point of view and as something which was likely to lead to political catastrophe.

During the years of World War I , Rasputin's increasing drunkenness, sexual promiscuity and willingness to accept bribes (in return for helping petitioners who flocked to his apartment), as well as his efforts to have his critics dismissed from their posts, made him appear increasingly cynical. Another way to look at this, is that like most Orthodox Christians Rasputin was brought up with the belief that the body is a sacred gift from God. Attaining divine grace through sin seems to have been one of the central secret doctrines which Rasputin preached to (and practiced with) his inner circle of society ladies. During World War I , Rasputin became the focus of accusations of unpatriotic influence at court; the unpopular Tsaritsa, meanwhile, was of German descent, and she came to be accused of acting as a spy in German employ. When Rasputin expressed an interest in going to the front to bless the troops early in the war, the Commander-in-Chief, Grand Duke Nicholas , promised to hang him if he dared to show up there. Rasputin then claimed that he had a revelation that the Russian armies would not be successful until the Tsar personally took command.

With this, the ill-prepared Nicholas proceeded to take personal command of the Russian army, with dire consequences for himself as well as for Russia. While Tsar Nicholas II was away at the front, Rasputin's influence over Tsaritsa Alexandra increased immensely. He soon became her confidant and personal adviser, and also convinced her to fill some governmental offices with his own handpicked candidates. To further the advance of his power, Rasputin cohabitated with upper-class women in exchange for granting political favours. Because of World War I and the ossifying effects of feudalism and a meddling government bureaucracy , Russia's economy was declining at a very rapid rate. Many at the time laid the blame with Alexandra and with Rasputin, because of his influence over her. Here is an example: Vladimir Purishkevich was an outspoken member of the Duma .

On November 19, 1916, Purishkevich made a rousing speech in the Duma, in which he stated, "The tsar's ministers who have been turned into marionettes , marionettes whose threads have been taken firmly in hand by Rasputin and the Empress Alexandra Fyodorovna — the evil genius of Russia and the tsaritsa ... who has remained a German on the Russian throne and alien to the country and its people." Felix Yusupov attended the speech and afterwards contacted Purishkevich, who quickly agreed to participate in the murder of Rasputin. [12] Rasputin's influence over the royal family was used against him and the Romanovs by politicians and journalists who wanted to weaken the integrity of the dynasty , force the Tsar to give up his absolute political power and separate the Russian Orthodox Church from the state. Rasputin unintentionally contributed to their propaganda by having public disputes with clergy members, bragging about his ability to influence both the Tsar and Tsaritsa, and also by his dissolute and very public lifestyle.

Nobles in influential positions around the Tsar, as well as some parties of the Duma, clamored for Rasputin's removal from the court. Perhaps inadvertently, Rasputin had added to the Tsar's subjects' diminishing respect for him. Murder This article needs additional citations for verification . Please help improve this article by adding reliable references (ideally, using inline citations ). Unsourced material may be challenged and removed . (June 2006) The legends recounting the death of Rasputin are perhaps even more bizarre than his strange life. According to Greg King's 1996 book The Man Who Killed Rasputin , a previous attempt on Rasputin's life had been made and had failed: Rasputin was visiting his wife and children in his hometown, Pokrovskoye, along the Tura River , in Siberia .

On June 29, 1914, he had either just received a telegram or was just exiting church, when he was attacked suddenly by Khionia Guseva , a former prostitute who had become a disciple of the monk Iliodor , once a friend of Rasputin's but now absolutely disgusted with his behaviour and disrespectful talk about the royal family. Iliodor had appealed to women who had been harmed by Rasputin, and together they formed a survivors' support group. Guseva thrust a knife into Rasputin's abdomen, and his entrails hung out of what seemed like a mortal wound. Convinced of her success, Guseva supposedly screamed, "I have killed the antichrist !" After intensive surgery , however, Rasputin recovered. It was said of his survival that "the soul of this cursed muzhik was sewn on his body." His daughter, Maria, pointed out in her memoirs that he was never the same man after that: he seemed to tire more easily and frequently took opium for pain.

The Moika Palace , along the Moika River , where Rasputin was supposedly lured and murdered The murder of Rasputin has become legend, some of it invented by the very men who killed him, which is why it becomes difficult to discern exactly what happened. It is, however, generally agreed that, on December 16, 1916, having decided that Rasputin's influence over the Tsaritsa had made him a far-too-dangerous threat to the empire, a group of nobles, led by Prince Felix Yusupov and the Grand Duke Dmitri Pavlovich (one of the few Romanov family members to escape the annihilation of the family during the Red Terror ), apparently lured Rasputin to the Yusupovs' Moika Palace , where they served him cakes and red wine laced with a massive amount of cyanide . According to legend, Rasputin was unaffected, although Vasily Maklakov had supplied enough poison to kill five men.

Conversely, Maria's account asserts that, if her father did eat or drink poison, it was not in the cakes or wine , because, after the attack by Guseva, he had hyperacidity , and avoided anything with sugar . In fact, she expressed doubt that he was poisoned at all. Determined to finish the job, Yusupov became anxious about the possibility that Rasputin might live until the morning, which would leave the conspirators with no time to conceal his body. Yusupov ran upstairs to consult the others and then came back down to shoot Rasputin through the back with a revolver . Rasputin fell, and the company left the palace for a while. Yusupov, who had left without a coat, decided to return to grab one, and, while at the palace, he went to check up on the body. Suddenly, Rasputin opened his eyes and lunged at Prince Yusupov. When he grabbed Prince Yusupov he ominously whispered in Yusupovs ear "you bad boy" and attempted to strangle him. As he made his bid to kill Yusupov, however, the other conspirators arrived and fired at him.

After being hit three times in the back, Rasputin fell once more. As they neared his body, the party found that, remarkably, he was still alive, struggling to get up. They clubbed him into submission and, after wrapping his body in a sheet, threw him into an icy river, and he finally met his end there — as had both his siblings before him. Three days later, the body of Rasputin, poisoned, shot four times and badly beaten, was recovered from the Neva River. An autopsy established that the cause of death was drowning , due to the presence of water in his lungs. His arms were found in an upright position, as if he had tried to claw his way out from under the ice. In the autopsy, it was found that he had indeed been poisoned, and that the poison alone should have been enough to kill him. Yet another report, also supporting the idea that he was still alive after submerging through the ice into the Neva River, is that after his body was pulled from the river, water was found in the lungs, showing that he didn't die until he was submerged.

[13] Subsequently, the Empress Alexandra buried Rasputin's body in the grounds of Tsarskoye Selo , but, after the February Revolution , a group of workers from Saint Petersburg uncovered the remains, carried them into a nearby wood and burnt them. As the body of Rasputin was being burned, he appeared to sit up in the fire. After being poisoned, shot, beaten, drowned, and officially verified as dead, he thoroughly horrified bystanders in his apparent attempts to move and get up. This legend is attributed to improper cremation . Since his body was in inexperienced hands, his tendons were probably not cut before burning. Consequently, when his body was heated, the tendons shrunk, forcing his legs to bend, and his body to bend at the waist, resulting in it appearing to sit up. This final happenstance only poured fuel on the fire of legends and mysteries surrounding Rasputin, which would continue to live on, long after he had truly passed away. Recent evidence The details of the killing given by Felix Yusupov have never stood up to close examination.

There were many versions of his account: the statement which he gave to the Saint Petersburg police on December 16, 1916, the account that he gave whilst in exile in the Crimea in 1917, his 1927 book, and, finally, the accounts given, under oath, to libel juries in 1934 and 1965. No two accounts were entirely identical, and, until recently, no other credible, evidence-based theories have been available. According to the unpublished 1916 autopsy report by Professor Kossorotov, as well as subsequent reviews by Dr. Vladimir Zharov in 1993 and Professor Derrick Pounder in 2004/05, no active poison was found in Rasputin's stomach. A possible explanation why the poison from the eaten cakes was inactive is given by the fact that the cyanide went through high temperatures when the cakes were baked in the oven. Subsequently the cyanide, or a large part of it, would have vaporized. It could not have been said with certainty that he drowned, as the water found in his lungs is a common non-specific autopsy-finding.

All three sources agree that Rasputin had been systematically beaten and attacked with a bladed weapon, but, most importantly, there were discrepancies regarding the number and caliber of handguns used. This discovery may have significantly changed the whole premise and account of Rasputin's death. British intelligence reports, between London and Saint Petersburg in 1916, indicate that the British were extremely concerned about Rasputin's displacement of pro-British ministers in the Russian government but, even more importantly, his apparent insistence on withdrawing Russian troops from World War I . This withdrawal would have allowed the Germans to transfer their Eastern Front troops to the Western Front, leading to a massive outnumbering of the Allies, and threatening their defeat. Whether this was actually Rasputin's intention or whether he was simply concerned about the huge number of casualties (as the Tsaritsa's letters indicated) is in dispute, but it is clear that the British viewed him as a real danger. Professor Pounder tells us that, of the four shots fired into Rasputin's body, the third (which entered his forehead) was instantly fatal. This third shot also provides some intriguing evidence.

In Pounder's view, with which the Firearms Department of London's Imperial War Museum agrees, the third shot was fired by a different gun from those responsible for the other three wounds. The "size and prominence of the abraded margin" suggested a large lead non-jacketed bullet . At the time, the majority of weapons used hard metal jacketed bullets, with Britain virtually alone in using lead unjacketed bullets, for their officers' Webley revolvers . Pounder came to the conclusion that the bullet which caused the fatal shot was a Webley .455 inch unjacketed round, the best fit with the available forensic evidence. Witnesses to the murder stated that the only man present with a Webley revolver was Lieutenant Oswald Rayner , a British officer attached to the British Secret Intelligence Service (SIS) station in Saint Petersburg. This account was supported further during an audience between the British Ambassador, Sir George Buchanan , and Tsar Nicholas, when Nicholas stated that he suspected a young Englishman who had been an old school friend of Yusupov. Rayner certainly had known Yusupov at Oxford .

There was, however, another SIS officer in Saint Petersburg at the time, namely Captain Stephen Alley , who had actually been born in the Yusupov Palace in 1876. Both families had very strong ties, so it is difficult to come to any conclusion about whom to hold responsible. Confirmation that Rayner, along with another officer, Captain John Scale , met up with Yusupov in the weeks leading up to the killing can be found in the diary of their chauffeur , William Compton , who recorded all visits. The last entry was made on the night after the murder. Compton said that "it is a little known fact that Rasputin was shot not by a Russian but by an Englishman" and indicated that the culprit was a lawyer from the same part of the country as Compton himself. There is little doubt that Rayner was born some ten miles from Compton's hometown and, throughout his life, described himself as a barrister-at-law , despite never having practised in that profession. Evidence that the attempt had not gone quite according to plan is hinted at in a letter which Alley wrote to Scale eight days after the murder: "Although matters here have not proceeded entirely to plan, our objective has clearly been achieved. ...

a few awkward questions have already been asked about wider involvement. Rayner is attending to loose ends and will no doubt brief you." On his return to England, Oswald Rayner not only confided to his cousin, Rose Jones, that he had been present at Rasputin's murder but also showed family members a bullet which he claimed to have acquired at the murder scene. Conclusive evidence is unattainable, however, as Rayner burnt all his papers before he died in 1961 and his only son also died four years later. The spirit of Grigori Yefimovich Rasputin The neutrality of this article is disputed . Please see the discussion on the talk page . Please do not remove this message until the dispute is resolved. (June 2008) After Rasputin's death, his secretary Simonovich realized that Rasputin had moved a lot of money into Maria's account. Indeed, he seemed generally to have set all his affairs in order. Mere weeks before he was assassinated, according to secretary Simonovich, Rasputin wrote the following: "I write and leave behind me this letter at Saint Petersburg. I feel that I shall leave life before January 1.

I wish to make known to the Russian people, to Papa, to the Russian Mother and to the Children, to the land of Russia, what they must understand. If I am killed by common assassins, and especially by my brothers the Russian peasants, you, Tsar of Russia, will have nothing to fear for your children, they will reign for hundreds of years in Russia. But if I am murdered by boyars, nobles, and if they shed my blood, their hands will remain soiled with my blood, for twenty-five years they will not wash their hands from my blood. They will leave Russia. Brothers will kill brothers, and they will kill each other and hate each other, and for twenty-five years there will be no nobles in the country. Tsar of the land of Russia, if you hear the sound of the bell which will tell you that Grigori has been killed, you must know this: if it was your relations who have wrought my death, then no one in the family, that is to say, none of your children or relations, will remain alive for more than two years. They will be killed by the Russian people.

I go, and I feel in me the divine command to tell the Russian Tsar how he must live if I have disappeared. You must reflect and act prudently. Think of your safety and tell your relations that I have paid for them with my blood. I shall be killed. I am no longer among the living. Pray, pray, be strong, think of your blessed family. -Grigori" Why he wrote this prophetic letter, if it was not made up by Simonovich, is still a mystery. Oddly enough, he predicted that he would not live to see the New Year, which turned out to be true. He was assassinated eight days before. Some speculate that Rasputin had a spiritual vision foreshadowing such an event, and, although he did not explicitly say so, there is certainly a strong suggestion in the letter that that might be so. Others believe that Rasputin was conscious of the fact that he was widely reviled by many of the Russian people at the time and that a number of them wanted him dead — although many of his fellow peasants seem to have supported his success with the royal court.

After the great speech that inspired Yusupov to make his move, rumors were flying about the Duma that something was soon to happen to Rasputin, and he may simply have gotten wind of the rumors without knowing who exactly the conspirators were. Daughter Rasputin's daughter, Maria Rasputin (Matryona Rasputina) (1898–1977), emigrated to France after the October Revolution , and then to the U.S. There she worked as a dancer and then a tiger-trainer in a circus . She left memoirs [14] about her father, wherein she painted an almost saintly picture of him, insisting that most of the negative stories were based on slander and the misinterpretations of facts by his enemies. Name meaning This article may contain original research or unverified claims . Please improve the article by adding references . See the talk page for details. (April 2008) The name Rasputin is not an uncommon surname, and does not have a "disgraceful" meaning, as the contemporary Russian writer Valentin Rasputin would be quick to explain. In Russian, it does not mean " licentious ", which has often been claimed.

There is, however, a very similar Russian adjective, rasputny (распу́тный), which does mean "licentious" — as well as the corresponding noun, "rasputnik". Some even suggest that his name meant "dissolute". [15] There are at least two options for the root-word : one of them is "put", which means "way", "road", and other close nouns are rasputye, a place where the roads diverge or converge, and rasputitsa (распу́тица), "muddy road season". Some historians argue that the name Rasputin may be a place name, since it does roughly signify "a place where two rivers meet", describing the area from which the Rasputin family originates and where his sibling died. Yet another possibility is the just-mentioned "put'" giving rise to the verb "putat", which means to "entangle" or "mix up" — "rasputat' " being its antonym — "disentangle", "untie", "clean up a misunderstanding".

However, the most well-founded explanation is a standard Russian surname derivation from the old Slavic name "Rasputa" ("Rasputko") (recorded as early as in sixteenth century), with the meaning "ill-behaved child", the one whose ways are against traditions or the will of parents. It is said that Rasputin tried to have his name changed to the inconspicuous "Novykh" ( Russian : Новыx) after his first pilgrimage to the Holy Land — "Novykh" (from the Russian Новый, meaning "New") connotes "Novice" — but that is the subject of much dispute. In popular culture Music The music group Boney M (with Frank Farian, Reyam and Fred Jay) released a song about Rasputin, " Rasputin " in 1978. [16] In 2007, Type O Negative featured a photo of Rasputin on the cover of their latest album, Dead Again . The Rasputin Music stores, a chain in California , is named for Rasputin, and its advertising even contains photographic images and other altered images of Rasputin.

The store's logo on its website features the classic image of Rasputin as a DJ mixing the tunes. The band Mastodon makes references to Rasputin throughout their album Crack the Skye . Theatre The final days of Rasputin’s life were portrayed on stage in Rivers of Blood [2] , written by the American poet and playwright Jay Jeff Jones. The play was produced in London in 1983 and was directed by the Irish novelist and poet Dermot Healey. The role of Rasputin was played by Gabriel Connaughton (brother of the novelist and Oscar nominated screenwriter Shane Connaughton [3] ). Cinema Rasputin's story has been fictionalized in a number of films since the 1920s. The first film made about him, Rasputin, the Black Monk , premiered in October 1917, but all copies have been lost. In 1932, Rasputin was portrayed by Lionel Barrymore in Rasputin and the Empress , from MGM studios. The Czarina was portrayed by Ethel Barrymore and Prince Paul Chegodieff by John Barrymore .

In 1938, a French film about his life called La Tragédie impériale (a.k.a. Rasputin), starring Harry Baur was based on a novel by Alfred Neumann and directed by Marcel L'Herbier . In 1996, actor Alan Rickman won both a Golden Globe and an Emmy for his portrayal of Rasputin in Rasputin: Dark Servant of Destiny . An extremely fictionalized Rasputin portrayed by Christopher Lloyd and Jim Cummings (providing his singing voice) stars as the primary antagonist in the 1997 animated film Anastasia . Along with a litany of other historical inaccuracies regarding the Romanov Dynasty and Russian Revolution, Rasputin is portrayed as a former confidante to Tzar Nicholas who is banished as a traitor after being revealed as a charlatan. He is also depicted as a lich . In the 2004 film Hellboy , Rasputin, portrayed by Karel Roden , is depicted as having survived his homicide, and is seen working with the Nazis , demonstrating great occult abilities linked with the underworld .

Rasputin is depicted as being nearly immortal; every time he dies, he is resurrected with a part of his god within his body. Television A popular anime program, Blood+ , featured an episode titled "Do you Remember the Promise?", where the main character Saya remembers her time during the 1920s tracking down Rasputin. [17] Circus The Moscow State Circus currently touring the United Kingdom has dedicated it's production to the life of Rasputin and his views and visions on life. The ringmaster portrays Rasputin by wearing a false beard and similar clothing. A narration reminds the audience of the life or Rasputin between certain acts. See also References ^ a b c Rasputin: The Mad Monk [DVD]. USA: A&E Home Video. 2005. ^ a b c Colin Wilson, Rasputin and the Fall of the Romanovs, Arthur Baker Limited, 1964, p. 23-26. ^ Heinz Liepman, Rasputin and the Fall of Imperial Russia, p. 21. ^ Edvard Radzinsky & Judson Rosengrant (ed.), The Rasputin File, Nan A.

Talese, 2000, p. 25. ^ P.N., no. 5644, September 6, 1936. ^ a b Robert Massie, Nicholas and Alexandra, Dell Publishing, 1967, p. 185. ^ Massie, p. 187. Rasputin — the Most Controversial Personality in Russian History Oct 4, 2013 by Meet the Slavs - Rasputin — the Most Controversial Personality in Russian History A healer, a pilgrim, an Orthodox monk, and a friend of the last imperial family in Russia on one hand, and a drunk, a profligate and a cause of the death of the same imperial family on the other, Rasputin is certainly one of the most controversial and mysterious figures in the history of the Russian Empire. Few documented records and plenty of myths and stories about his life have mixed into a story that is significant enough to give birth to articles, books and even movies about Rasputin’s life and death. Grigori Yefimovich Rasputin was born in Russian Siberia in a small village called Pokrovskoye.

What happened between that time and 1907, when he was introduced to the imperial family, is not known for fact. Some believe Rasputin was an Orthodox monk and a pilgrim who visited many holy sites and had a gift of healing people and predicting future; others say he was a genius actor, who used religion to fool people. In either case, he proclaimed himself a saint and did not miss an opportunity to tell everyone that he had a gift of healing. News of Rasputin spread fast, and soon enough people with all sorts of diseases started to travel, just to see the famous “starets” (an elderly and wise person) and healer and ask him for help. Rasputin could not read, certainly had no medical education, but he was very good at understanding people and finding a way to help those who felt desperate about their lives. Once, when plowing a field, he saw a vision of the Virgin who told him that czarevitch (son of a czar) in Saint Petersburg had a serious disease and Rasputin had to go there and heal him.

Aleksey, son of the Russian emperor Nicholas II, indeed had haemophilia, although the disease was kept in secret as much as that was possible. Rasputin in the imperial palace At first, Nicholas II was reluctant to invite Rasputin to help his son, but in 1907, when czarevich was in critical state, Rasputin was invited to the imperial palace. The rest of Rasputin’s life in Saint Petersburg was connected with permanent treatment of czarevich Aleksey. But Grigori Rasputin never limited himself to treating czarevich. He got acquainted with many high officials and noble people, and eventually became an advisor to czar and especially his wife Alexandra. It is widely believed that Rasputin stood behind many political decisions made by the imperial family at that time. Soon Saint Petersburg was filled with rumors that Rasputin accepted sexual services or money to promote projects or people, using his tremendous influence on Alexandra. His drunken brawls were known all across Saint Petersburg, and he undermined the emperor’s authority because of the rumors of Rasputin having an affair with czar’s wife Alexandra.

In 1916, some Russian nobles, led by Prince Felix Yusupov, decided that Rasputin’s influence on the imperial family was a threat to the Russian Empire and plotted to poison him. Grigori Rasputin was poisoned with cyanide, which didn’t work, then was shot several times, but still tried to stand on his feet, he was then put into a sack and drowned in Neva River. Rasputin’s foresight An interesting fact is that Rasputin predicted his murder and wrote a letter to the emperor’s wife Alexandra in which he stated that if he gets killed by a peasant, Russia will remain a prosperous empire, and if he gets killed by a nobleman, the czar and all his family will be murdered. In 1916, Rasputin was killed by a group of noblemen, and in 1918, imperial family was executed by communists.

We will never know whether Grigori Rasputin was a healer, a pilgrim, an Orthodox monk, and a friend of the last imperial family in Russia or a drunk, a profligate and a cheater, but he was certainly a great actor, psychologist and one of the most known, bright and mysterious personalities in the history of the Russian Empire. Rasputin biography | birthday, trivia | Russian Political Figure | Who2 Political Figure Known as the “mad monk,” Grigori Rasputin was an outlandish figure in the court of Czar Nicholas II of Russia. A wandering peasant and self-styled holy man, Rasputin became a favorite of Nicholas and the Empress Alexandra in 1905 after he laid hands on their son Alexis, apparently healing the boy of hemophilia. Rasputin was soon a fixture in the royal household and a particular confidante to Alexandra. Wild-eyed and unkempt, Rasputin was strangely charismatic and his personal magnetism was legendary; at the same time his bouts of drinking, womanizing, and wild behavior created a scandal in Russian society.

He was finally killed in 1916 by a cabal of aristocrats who feared Rasputin’s influence had grown too great. Rasputin’s death became the stuff of legend: assassins fed him poisoned cakes and wine, and when the poison failed to kill Rasputin they shot him and beat him. Still Rasputin didn’t die, until finally the men bound him and tossed him into the Neva River, where he drowned. Extra credit The mad monk was played by Alan Rickman in the 1996 HBO film Rasputin and by Conrad Veidt in the 1932 German film Rasputin… Rasputin died on 30 December under the modern (Gregorian) calendar, on 17 December under the old (Julian) calendar; Russia didn’t adopt the modern calendar until after the Revolution of 1917. Some sources list the death date as the 29th (or 16th) of December, on the theory that Rasputin died before midnight on the night of his murder.

Question: In which river was Rasputin drowned in 1916?
Answer: NEVA